Frank L. Ridley
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
August 18, 1958
Frank L. Ridley | |
|---|---|
 Ridley in 2018 | |
| Born | Frank Lawrence Ridley August 18, 1958 Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | June 3, 2025 (aged 66) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1998–2025 |
| Website | frankridley |
Frank Lawrence Ridley (August 18, 1958 – June 3, 2025) was an American film and television actor. Born into a musical family in Michigan, he originally trained as an opera singer with Richard Conrad. After attending Boston Conservatory of Music, he started his career as a regular member of Sarah Caldwell's Opera Company of Boston.[1]
Honest Gil Fulbright
His television career started when he was cast as Terry Mulligan in the Showtime network series Brotherhood. His other television work included roles on House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, Alpha House, Olive Kitteridge, The Night Of, The Leftovers, and 30 Rock.
Ridley also featured in a variety of films including Inside Llewyn Davis, Birdman, and The Judge.
Ridley died on June 3, 2025, at the age of 66.[2]
Honest Gil Fulbright is a satirical political candidate portrayed by Frank Ridley.[3] Fulbright originally "ran" for the U.S. Senate in 2014 as an "honest politician for Kentucky" on behalf of RepresentUs.[4] His campaign message was "I'm only in this thing for the money, but at least I'm honest about it."[5]
Ridley portrayed Fulbright on CNN,[6] The Today Show,[7] Fox & Friends,[8] Al Jazeera,[9] The Washington Post,[10] and The Huffington Post.[11]
Fulbright's campaign got a powerful boost when noted artist Shepard Fairey reimagined his iconic Barack Obama "Hope" poster as a Gil Fulbright "SOLD" poster to help raise funds for the finance-reform-minded satirical campaign.[12]
Filmography
Films
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Next Stop Wonderland | Whale Watch Captain (voice) | |
| 1998 | Bobby Loves Mangos | Dwight Stevenson | Short film |
| 1999 | Temps | Himself | |
| 2003 | Little Erin Merryweather | Joe Havey | |
| 2005 | Long Distance | Sheriff | |
| 2007 | Underdog | Police Sergeant | |
| 2007 | The Great Debaters | Security Guard | |
| 2009 | The Box | Detective Starrs | |
| 2014 | The Call to the Post | Ray | Short film |
| 2010 | Edge of Darkness | Automatic Weapons Cop | |
| 2011 | Jimmy Boy | Barney | Short film |
| 2013 | Inside Llewyn Davis | Union Hall Man 1 | |
| 2014 | Birdman | Mr. Roth | |
| 2014 | The Judge | Jury Foreman | |
| 2017 | Professor Marston and the Wonder Women | Office Manager | |
| 2017 | The Post | New York Times Staffer | |
| 2019 | Jungleland | Burly Father | |
| 2021 | Don't Look Up | Flight Director Anderson | |
| 2022 | Out of the Blue (2022_film) | Frank | |
| 2022 | Boston Strangler | Ida's Super | |
| 2022 | Mr. Harrigan's Phone | Reverend Mooney | |
| 2023 | Finestkind | Salty | |
| TBA | Martyr of Gowanus | Laszlo Gaspari | filming |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Waterfront | Maître d' | Unproduced TV series | |
| 2007 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Coach Bloom | Episode: "Offense" | |
| 2007 | I'm Paige Wilson | Oscar Tucson | TV movie | |
| 2006–2008 | Brotherhood | Terry Mulligan | 16 episodes | |
| 2009 | Empire State | Steve Marks | TV movie | |
| 2009 | 30 Rock | Traffic Cop | ||
| 2009 | Mercy | Leo Kalinowski | ||
| 2010 | Boardwalk Empire | Conductor | ||
| 2011 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Dispatcher | ||
| 2014 | Unforgettable | Burly Man | ||
| 2012 | Nurse Jackie | Patient on Gurney | ||
| 2013 | Clear History | Detective | TV movie | |
| 2014 | Orange is the New Black | Bob Shore | ||
| 2014 | The Leftovers | Neighbor Paul | ||
| 2014 | Olive Kitteridge | Mr. Thibodeau | TV miniseries; 2 episodes | |
| 2014 | Alpha House | Agribusiness Guy #2 | ||
| 2015 | House of Cards | Harlan Traub | ||
| 2016 | The Night Of | Jerry | TV miniseries; 2 episodes | |
| 2016 | Bull | Judge Albert Darling | ||
| 2017 | Orange is the New Black | Frank | ||
| 2017 | GLOW | Marlo | ||
| 2017–2018 | The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel | Sal | 2 episodes | |
| 2018 | Castle Rock | Lieutenant Chesterton | 2 episode | |
| 2018 | Bizaardvark | Santa Claus | Episode: "Holiday Video Sketchtacular" | |
| 2020 | Bull | Detective Jacobson | ||
| 2020 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Dr. Brian Gold | ||
| 2021 | At That Age | ICU Doctor | ||
| 2022 | WeCrashed | Skeptical Landlord | ||
| 2022 | FBI: Most Wanted | Matthew Pitts | ||
| 2023 | The Gilded Age | Mr. Whitmore | ||
| 2023 | The Blacklist | Heinrich Wittelsbach |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Pharaoh | Pharaoh |
| 2018 | Red Dead Redemption 2 | Jim "Boy" Calloway |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Motive | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award | Best Ensemble | Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) | Won [13] |
| 2015 | San Diego Film Critics Society Award | Best Performance by an Ensemble | Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) | Won [14] |